Editorial: Team of champions

Tuesday

Oct 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMOct 30, 2007 at 4:36 AM

After 86 years in the wilderness, you can only discover the promised land once, so the Red Sox triumph in the 2007 World Series can't really compare to 2004's reversal of an ancient curse. But this sweep was just as sweet, for it confirmed a transition launched three years ago, turning a team that always came up short into a team of champions.

The MetroWest Daily News

After 86 years in the wilderness, you can only discover the promised land once, so the Red Sox triumph in the 2007 World Series can't really compare to 2004's reversal of an ancient curse. But this sweep was just as sweet, for it confirmed a transition launched three years ago, turning a team that always came up short into a team of champions.

Without the distractions of ancient history, fans this time can focus their appreciation on the team that has brought the trophy back to Boston, and what a team it is.

Like most teams with a healthy bank account, the Red Sox have been able to bring in some high-priced talent, but it is the rookies who made this team so much fun to watch. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia plays with enough talent and spirit to make him a leading candidate for American League Rookie of the Year. Jacoby Ellsbury, who started the year in the minor leagues, sparked the team's rebound in the league championship series and is an early favorite for the 2008 Rookie of the Year award. Clay Buchholtz came up from the minors to pitch a no-hitter, then left again - but he'll be back.

The team's starting pitchers in the World Series sweep give an idea of the team's diversity: Fireballer Josh Beckett, who has become the team's ace in his second year; Curt Schilling, 40, who more than makes up in smarts what he has lost in velocity; Daisuke Matsuzaka, the $100 million Japanese import; and John Lester, a 23-year-old kid who watched last year's World Series from a hospital bed, where he was being treated for cancer.

They handed the ball off to a bullpen that ranged from grizzled veteran Mike Timlin, to Manny Delcarmen - the only Boston native on the team - to the intense and wacky Jonathan Papelbon, who has all of New England dancing a victory jig.

What made this team special was the combination of youth and experience. Senior citizens like Tim Wakefield, Mike Lowell and the indispensable Jason Varitek provided leadership while the rookies brought energy. As manager Terry Francona said after Sunday's game, when the pieces came together, you saw the veterans acting like kids and the kids playing like veterans.

All of them acted like professionals, and, for that, much credit goes to Francona himself. Poised, thoughtful and confident. He always seems to say the right thing, with the right inflection, and so do his charges. Professional sports is overstocked with players who let their egos get in the way of the team and their mouths run ahead of their brains. These Red Sox have been free of scandal and controversy.

Granted, it's easier to keep a positive attitude when you're winning, and the Red Sox held first place since mid-April. But the kind of attitude that accepts the inevitable thrills and slumps of a long season is a hallmark of a winning team. Teams that consistently win also have a management philosophy that balances the desire to win today's game against the need to make decisions now to guarantee the team will contend next year and the year after that.

The Red Sox have so dominated Major League Baseball since their magical trip to the World Series three years ago that some have started comparing it to another dynasty: the New York Yankees. To a true fan, those are fighting words, and inaccurate ones at that. Compared to this team, the Yankees are a gang of whining, overpaid under-achievers.

The better comparison is to a team closer to home that has also made the transition from longtime loser to model franchise: the New England Patriots.

Speaking of which, the Patriots are undefeated and unchallenged, putting together what looks like a season for the ages. Boston College's football team is ranked number two in the country. And the beleagured Celtics open their season Friday with the most talented lineup since Larry Bird hung up his sneakers.

New England sports fans may be hoarse and sleepy, but that won't stop them from cheering their boys in the streets of Boston tomorrow. This time, they will be further cheered by the knowledge that even with Fenway closed, other great teams are ready to carry us through the winter.

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